It’s another double elimination on The X Factor with two acts going home, getting us down to the Top 8. After Khaya Cohen was in the bottom last week, will she be in danger again? Will Simon Cowell’s predictions actually come true this week? And will any mentor be down to a single act or even eliminated entirely from the competition?
The Top 10 performances drew a ton of praise from the judges, making it harder than usual to figure out who’s going home. According to them, almost everyone had their best song ever, including Alex and Sierra’s cover of “Best Song Ever.”
But here’s how I see the Top 10 finalists.
Who’s Safe?
Rion Paige seems like a shoo-in for the finale, giving great performances, getting good feedback from the judges and inspiring America with her triumphant personal struggle. I also think Restless Road is in a good position, performing last and getting a heavy push by Simon. Alex and Sierra have been cute and hopefully have earned plenty of fans, so I think they have nothing to worry about this week too. And while I wasn’t a fan of Jeff Gutt’s performance, I think the judges’ praise and his single dad story will keep votes coming his way.
Who’s in the Middle?
Last week the two singers I put in the middle were actually in the bottom and had to face-off. Historically speaking, the singer who survives a final showdown is safe the next week, most likely due to voters realizing they need to vote or else they will go home, so I think Khaya Cohen might get a reprieve. I also think Ellona Santiago has built up a strong enough support base to keep her around despite a less-than-stellar performance.
Who’s in Danger?
For the most part, I agree with Simon. Tim Olstad, Carlito Olivero and Lillie McCloud should be worried. Tim actually had a good performance, but I don’t think calling him sexy and comparing him to Robin Thicke will inspire his fans, because that’s not why they like him. Carlito is just ho-hum and not nearly as sexy as Paulina Rubio and the others want us to think he is. Besides, all this talk of sexiness on a reality singing competition only makes me think of The Voice‘s Adam Levine being named People’s Sexiest Man Alive.
Lillie is like that Sesame Street about one of these things not being like the others. She’s a lot older than everyone else in the competition (Jeff Gutt is the only one within 30 years of her) and her style is very old-fashioned. I also worry about Josh Levi and I think the judges might love him more than America. His routine was bonkers and I’m always suspicious when there’s a large gap between a contestant’s personality in the backstage videos (where Josh is a goofy kid making bad jokes about nosy peppers being “Jalapeno business”) and his stage presence (where he’s presented as the second coming of Chris Brown/Usher).
My Prediction
I predict that Tim Olstad will have the lowest number of votes and be automatically eliminated. Then I think Carlito and Lillie will be in the final showdown. Obviously Kelly will want to keep Lillie and Paulina will want to keep Carlito. I think Demi will go with the cute boy and Simon will surprise people by wanting to keep Lillie, simply because he seems to really want Carlito gone. That would send the tie-breaker to whoever had the lowest votes, and I’ll go with Lillie getting eliminated.
Who do you think will go home on The X Factor? And are you more interested in the results or in One Direction performing?
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
